Good news, friends. Dennis the wayward manatee, who has been swimming in the cold northern waters off Cape Cod for several days, is now on his way to Sea World in Orlando, Florida for rehabilitation. Thanks to James H. for the good news.

Saturday October 11, 2008, 12:29 pm
HOORAH for Dennis! Gee, thanks Ombretta my beautiful friend for such lovely news! I was crossing my fingers on this one! Your a peach, and I am so happy for Dennis. This is a happy ending and such wonderful news! Noted with a smile.

Sunday October 12, 2008, 5:19 am
James H sent me a new link from the Cape Cod Times...apparently the one attahed to the story is phhhbbbbtttt.....but if you go here Rescuing Dennis you WILL see a short video of them actually getting Dennis out of the water....Happy Sunday!

Sunday October 12, 2008, 5:33 am
so what is the update on the other manatee, anyone? I had no idea two of them were in trouble! bravo for this one, hoping the same for the other, poor babys don't know which way is south anymore do they? not a wonder, look what we do to their waterworld.

Sunday October 12, 2008, 5:46 am
Sheila, the Texas Dennis is an old story and I think he's OK...this thread is about the Massachusetts Dennis...and Mick...I don't think Sea World uses manatees as entertainment....I believe the goal is to release him to his natural habitat.

Sunday October 12, 2008, 5:24 pm
EAST DENNIS — After a dramatic rescue yesterday morning, a wayward manatee known affectionately as Dennis died today with just one hour before he reached SeaWorld in Florida.

Chris Cutter, spokesman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a telephone interview this afternoon that the manatee, which gained fame last week after turning up in Sesuit Harbor in Dennis, passed away while being transported by truck to Florida.

Cutter had received text-message updates every couple of hours regarding Dennis. At 1:30 p.m. everything was going well and the manatee was expected to be in the water by 3 p.m. But an hour later, Dennis was dead.

“Everything looked to be encouraging but then he just crashed and now we all feel like we had the rug pulled out from under us a little”.

An exact cause of death will not be known until a necropsy is performed later this week.

The manatee left Sesuit Harbor in the back of a truck Saturday morning along with a team from SeaWorld. The vehicle stopped briefly in Buzzards Bay Saturday so Dennis could be given intravenous treatment and have heating pads placed around his body for the long road trip, Cutter told the Times today.

The treatment raised the 1,000-pound manatee’s body temperature from 73 degrees to about 89 degrees Fahrenheit and his glucose levels were back up, Cutter said. A manatee’s normal body temperature is usually in the low 90s, he said.

Had Dennis survived, he would have been the first manatee found so far north to be rescued successfully, according to A.J. Cady, a director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.